The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the
Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the
TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis
Pointer) is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured
during the 1990s by Plaxton
and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.

With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary
Reeve Burgess
made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m chassis. Launched in 1991,
at 2.3 m wide, this proved popular with big transport operators,
and they sold in big numbers in London. The modular nature of both chassis and
body meant for various permutations in length, with 8.5 m, 9.0 m
and 9.8 m variants being manufactured. The Pointer became the most
successful midibus body. The
Pointer was also available with Volvo B6 chassis.

The introduction of the Super Low Floor version of the Dennis
Dart, the Dart SLF, in 1995 saw the Pointer body redesigned at a
2.4 m width, with a step-free entrance, giving easy access for the
disabled. This redesigned Pointer bodywork was also built on the Volvo
B6LE, one for the UK and the other 20 for Citybus of
Hong Kong. Not long after, the body received an all-new lower
front end design, and alterations to the rest of the body - the
Pointer 2 was born, and has proved to be just as
successful. This was also available in a range of lengths to suit
individual needs - 9.3 m, 10.1 m, 10.7 m, 11.3 m "Super Pointer
Dart" (SPD), and after 3 years of production, the 8.8 m "Mini
Pointer Dart" (MPD).

In 1998, the Mayflower Group, owner of Alexander's
Coachbuilders, took over Dennis. The future of the
Pointer at that time appeared uncertain as it was thought the Dart
may be solely bodied by Alexander. As a result, Plaxton built two Pointer bodies on the Volvo
B6BLE chassis known as Bus 2000, but the project was scrapped when
Mayflower also purchased Plaxton, forming TransBus International. Certain design
features of the scrapped Bus 2000 project have since been used on
other designs, most notably the Alexander Dennis Enviro300 and Enviro500.

With the collapse of TransBus in 2004 and subsequent
restructuring by the administrators, Plaxton and
Alexander Dennis were sold to different parties. As Pointer
production had been transferred to the former Alexander plant at Falkirk, it became an Alexander
Dennis product. Plaxton, once again an independent company, has
signalled its return to the bus market by developing the Centro on
VDL and
MAN chassis to join its Primo low-floor
minibus in competition with the Pointer.

As of 2006 the Pointer was still popular in the UK, securing
large orders from Stagecoach, First and Arriva.

On 20 March 2006 Alexander Dennis announced the replacement for
the Pointer Dart, the Enviro200 Dart, with
the vehicle being launched in August 2006. Some Pointers were still
being finished off as the first Enviro200 Darts came off the
production line, but all have now been delivered.

Gallery

Arriva Kent and Sussex 3176, a
Plaxton Pointer 1. The low-floor Pointer 1 was made for a short
while between when the low-floor Dennis Dart chassis came into production
and before the Pointer 2 came out.